Israeli troops kill stone-throwing Palestinian youth in West Bank

JERUSALEM, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot and killed
a Palestinian youth who the army said had been throwing stones
at Israeli vehicles on a road in the occupied West Bank on
Wednesday.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops patrolling near
the West Bank city of Hebron encountered Palestinians throwing
rocks at vehicles on a main road and shot one of them.

The Palestinian health ministry said 15-year-old Omar Madi
was taken to hospital in Hebron where he was declared dead.

Since a surge in violence began in October, 27 Israelis and
a U.S. citizen have been killed in near-daily Palestinian
attacks that have included stabbings, shootings and
car-rammings.

Israeli forces have killed at least 157 Palestinians in the
same period, 101 of them assailants, according to Israeli
authorities. Other Palestinians have died during violent
anti-Israeli protests.

The bloodshed has been partly fuelled by Palestinian
frustration over long-stalled peace talks and anger at perceived
Jewish encroachment on a contested Jerusalem shrine.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Ori
Lewis, Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Robin Pomeroy)